England triumph over Germany

December 2, 2012 12:36 pm

The England hockey team recovered from their opening-game defeat to India to beat Olympic champions Germany 4-1 at the Champions Trophy in Melbourne.

An inexperienced side were defeated 3-1 on Saturday, but recovered in style on Sunday, with early goals from Adam Dixon and Harry Martin giving them the edge.

An own goal from Richard Smith did give Germany some hope, but Loughborough's Henry Weir ensured the return of the two-goal cushion before half-time when he forced Mats Grambusch into putting through his own net.

Germany then had Niklas Grell sent off for a second yellow card and Darren Cheesman duly made the numerical advantage count as he secured the win for England.

"We got our just desserts for sticking rigidly to a game plan," said assistant coach Bobby Crutchley.

"The Germans always looked dangerous going forward, but I thought our defensive unit was excellent. We took our chances today and that made all the difference."

England are second in Pool A ahead of their final match against New Zealand.